New officer in charge at station in Harbor Beach

Published 8:00 pm, Tuesday, July 4, 2006

HARBOR BEACH - Boatswain's Mate Chief Charles Burleigh relieved Boatswain's Mate Chief James Hines as Officer in Charge of Coast Guard Station Harbor Beach recently in a time-honored ceremony that formally restates the continuity of the commanding officer's authority and represents a total transfer of accountability from one individual to another.

Chief Hines is transferring to Coast Guard Cutter Monsoon, San Diego, Calif., where he will assume the duties of Operations Officer. His previous assignments include USCGC Escanaba, Boston, Mass.; Station Scituate, Mass.; USCGC Point Barnes, Fort Pierce, Fla.; Station Cape Cod Canal, Sandwich, Mass.; and Station Harbor Beach, as Officer in Charge. He and his wife Trichia have one daughter. Chief Burleigh is coming from Coast Guard Station Niagara, Youngstown, N.Y. His previous assignments include USCGC White Lupine, Rockland, Maine; Station Fairport, Grand River, Ohio; Station Buffalo, N.Y.; and USCGC Naushon, Ketchikan, Alaska. He and his wife Faydra have two children.

With the first Harbor Beach station commissioned in 1881, USCG Station Harbor Beach has enjoyed a rich maritime history. Station Harbor Beach is a manned crew of 15 active duty members. The unit has two primary missions - search and rescue and law enforcement.

Station Harbor Beach is responsible for 1,175 square miles of Lake Huron, which encompasses 85 miles of rocky shore line starting at Sand Beach in the north and ending at Port Sanilac in the south.

Station Harbor Beach is a subordinate unit of Coast Guard Sector Detroit. Sector Detroit directly oversees all Coast Guard missions on South Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair and Western Lake Erie from Alpena to Marblehead, Ohio.